Colombo: Sri Lanka's cricketers were reunited with their families after returning home early on Wednesday following an attack by gunmen in Lahore.
The players were welcomed home to Bandaranaike International Airport by friends and families, cricket officials, sports minister Gamini Lokuge and a large media contingent.
Around a dozen gunmen attacked the team's bus on Tuesday with rifles, grenades and rockets, wounding six players and a British assistant coach and killing at least eight Pakistanis.
"It's great to be back in Sri Lanka with our families and loved ones," Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene told Reuters after the team's arrival home at 3.20am (2120 GMT).
"We are still shocked by what has happened but we are relieved that no one in the team suffered more serious injuries or were killed," he added.
Five players and assistant coach Paul Farbrace were transported straight to Nawaloka hospital in central Colombo for checks on their injuries.
The most seriously injured player was Thilan Samaraweera, who was shot in the leg. Doctors will decide on Wednesday whether to try to remove the bullet. Early reports suggest he would be unable to play cricket for between six to eight weeks.
Tharanga Paranavitana, a 26-year-old playing his first international tour, was the next most seriously injured after being shot in the chest. The bullet, which narrowly missed his heart, was later removed by Pakistan doctors.
"I am fine now," Paranavitana said at the airport. "I feel very lucky." The other players injured, all of whom suffered minor shrapnel wounds, included Jayawardene (ankle), Kumar Sangakkara (shoulder), Ajantha Mendis (head) and Suranga Lakmal (leg). Jayawardene was the only player not sent to hospital on the team's return. Sangakkara paid tribute to the team's bus driver, Mohammad Khalil, for saving lives.
"The truth is that we owe our lives to Khalil for the courage he showed in getting the bus going again after the initial attack and into the stadium," Sangakkara told Reuters.
"After the first shots the bus had come to a halt on the roundabout and we were sitting ducks for the terrorists, but he got us out of there just in time."
"I can't even think anything other than that. Everyone's safe, the whole team. A lot of guys were really lucky. If you see the bus there is not a place where there isn't a bullet hole. I don't know how we escaped. I am really happy about that," he said.
"About 10 minutes after we left the hotel and about 600 meters from the stadium there is a roundabout. There I heard a sound like a cracker had been lit. I didn't take it seriously. Then I saw two white cars on the side of the road reversing towards the front of the bus. One lost control of the vehicle and hit the roundabout. I thought that it was an issue between those two. Then one person got off and started firing. The first shot hit about a half foot away from the driver. Only then did I realise that they are firing at us. Then everybody shouted at each other to hit the floor. I heard some of the players shouting that they have been hit. They fired for about three more minutes because the bus driver was in shock and the bus was in one place for about one-and-a-half minutes. I shouted 'drive fast, drive fast'. Then the bus moved slowly forward. Even when we were moving forward they kept on firing. That's all I can remember. I saw the wounds of the players only after we got to the ground," says Thilakaratne Dilshan.
"We all got scared. At that time all that I could think of is who got shot and who didn't. It is the driver of the bus who saved us," says Muttiah Muralitharan.
Meanwhile, Lahore Capital City Police Officer, Haji Habibur Rehman said, "This had local assistance but they came from outside. Raids to nab the attackers were conducted outside Lahore including Punjab. Punjab government has announced a Rs 1 crore reward for any information of the attackers."
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